AGGIES HOST NO. 4 KANSAS WEDNESDAY; 2-FOR-$10 TICKETS AVAILABLE
TEXAS A&M BASKETBALL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, February 20, 2012
Game Notes (PDF): Click Here
Ticket Special: Click Here
Coach Kennedy Press Conference: Click Here
COLLEGE STATION—Texas A&M faces its second-straight top-five opponent on Wednesday when the Aggies (13-13, 4-10) play host to No. 4 Kansas (22-5, 12-2) at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m.
The game marks one of two final home games for A&M in the 2012 season, which will close out the slate at Reed next Tuesday against K-State.
DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks is sponsoring a “DoubleDown with DoubleDave’s” promotion that allows fans to get a pair of tickets to the game for just $10. For information, fans can visit any of the three DoubleDave's locations in the Bryan/College Station area or order a pizza for delivery (info on pizza boxes).
GAME 27:
Texas A&M AGGIES (13-13, 4-10) vs (#4/5) Kansas JAYHAWKS (22-5, 12-2)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 • 8:05 PM CT • TV: ESPN2 HD
Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: ESPN2 HD
Jon Sciambi, Play-by-Play
Fran Fraschilla, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 91
RADIO: ESPN Radio (National)
Kevin Calabro, Play-by-Play
Bob Valvano, Commentary
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 13-13, 4-10 Big 12
Ranking: NR
Streak: Lost 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 1-4 / 4-6
at Home: 11-5
Last Game: lost to (#3) Missouri (H), 71-62 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 224-192 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 13-13 (first year)
vs. Kansas: 0-1
A&M Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 10.8 4.6 0.6 26 / 27.0
13 Jordan Green G 6-4 181 Fr. 4.0 2.0 1.4 26 / 17.6
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 217 Jr. 11.8 5.1 2.1 14 / 25.9
23 Zach Kinsley G/F 6-5 208 Sr. 2.3 0.7 0.5 20 / 8.8
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 14.3 3.5 2.1 19 / 31.9
Snapshot: Kansas
Record: 22-5, 12-2 Big 12
Ranking: 4th (AP), 5th (ESPN/USAT)
Streak: Won 4
Last 5 / Last 10: 4-1 / 8-2
on the Road: 8-5
Last Game: def. Texas Tech (H), 83-50 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Bill Self (Oklahoma State '85)
Record: 466-156 (19th year)
at Kansas: 259-51 (ninth year)
vs. Texas A&M: 10-3
Kansas Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
0 Thomas Robinson F 6-10 237 Jr. 17.7 11.8 1.1b 27 / 31.1
5 Jeff Withey C 7-0 235 Jr. 9.5 6.6 3.4b 27 / 24.2
10 Tyshawn Taylor G 6-3 185 Sr. 16.6 1.7 5.1 27 / 32.7
15 Elijah Johnson G 6-4 195 Jr. 8.6 2.9 3.7 27 / 31.7
24 Travis Releford F 6-6 210 Jr. 9.1 4.3 2.0 27 / 30.9
Series History: Kansas leads, 18-1
A&M streak: Lost 7
In College Station Kansas leads, 7-0
At Reed Arena Kansas leads, 6-0
In Lawrence Kansas leads, 9-1
At Allen Fieldhouse Kansas leads, 9-1
At Neutral Sites Kansas leads, 3-0
At Big 12 Tournament Kansas leads, 2-0
Longest A&M Win Streak 1 game
Longest Kansas Win Streak 11 games
Largest A&M Win 3 (69-66, 02/03/07)
Largest Kansas Win 40 (85-45, 02/26/03)
Billy Kennedy vs. Kansas 0-1
Bill Self vs. A&M 10-3
• Wednesday marks the 20th meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1967.
• A&M's lone win in the series came at Allen Fieldhouse in a battle of top-10 teams back in 2007 ... the Aggies topped KU, 69-66.
• then No. 1-ranked Kansas escaped Reed with a 59-54 win in its last trip in 2010.
Date AM/Op Rk Site Score
1967 D16 —/ 4 Lawrence L 52-78
1997 J22 —/ 1 Lawrence L 60-89
1998 J14 —/ 3 College Station L 65-83
1999 J2 —/14 Lawrence L 57-95
2000 J17 —/ 7 College Station L 57-78
2001 J20 —/ 5 Lawrence L 70-100
2002 J26 —/ 2 College Station L 74-86
2003 F26 —/ 7 Lawrence L 45-85
2004 J17 —/12 College Station L 65-71
2005 J5 —/ 2 Lawrence L 60-65
2006 J25 College Station L 73-83
2007 F3 8 / 6 Lawrence W 69-66
2008 M8 —/ 5 College Station L 55-72
2008 M15 —/ 5 Kansas City L 71-77
2009 J19 Lawrence L 53-73
2010 F15 23/ 1 College Station L 54-59
2010 M12 23/ 1 Kansas City L 66-79
2011 M2 22/ 2 Lawrence L 51-64
2012 J23 —/ 5 Lawrence L 54-64
Tale of the Tape
A&M KU
61.4 points/game 74.9
60.2 opp. points/game 60.4
+1.2 scoring margin +14.5
.438 field goal % .486
.397 opp. field goal % .378
.332 3-point % .352
34.6 rebounds 37.3
+2.2 rebound margin +6.4
12.2 assists 16.0
13.8 turnovers 13.9
5.7 steals 7.7
2.4 blocks 5.7
Quick Hits
• Kansas (No. 4 AP/No. 5 USAT) will mark A&M's fifth top-5 opponent this season, a new school record ... the previous high was three, set several times ... all of the top-5 foes have come in Big 12 play, also a school record.
• For the first time in program history, the Aggies will play consecutive games against top-five teams when they battle the Jayhawks on Wednesday.
• Seven of A&M's 13 losses this year have come to teams currently ranked in the top 25 nationally, all but one away from home (#3 Missouri (twice), #4 Kansas,#9 Baylor [twice], #12 Florida, #23 Miss. State).
• The Aggies' conference road losses this year have come to Baylor, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State, squads that have combined to go 80-10 at home.
• The Aggies lead the Big 12 in two defensive categories (through Feb. 19): scoring defense and 3-point FG% defense; A&M ranks second in defensive rebound percentage and third in field-goal percentage defense.
• Through games of Feb. 16, Texas A&M ranked 11th nationally in 3-point FG% defense and 23rd in field-goal pct. defense.
• The Aggies have won 53 Big 12 games since the start of the 2007 league season ... prior to that, A&M had totaled only 43 victories in the first 10 years of Big 12 play (53-39 since 2006, 43-116 from 1997-2006).
• A&M has finished .500 or better in Big 12 play in each of the past 7 years, one of just 3 teams to do so (Kansas, Texas).
• A&M is one of just 12 schools that have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 6 seasons (Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Villanova, Wisconsin, Xavier).
• Texas A&M is one of only 8 schools in the entire country that have won 24 or more games in each of the last 5 seasons (Butler, BYU, Kansas, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, VCU, Xavier).
Scouting Kansas
• Kansas is 22-5 on the year and sits tied atop the Big 12 standings with rival Missouri at 12-2 ... the Jayhawks are No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today poll ... KU has won four in a row since its most recent loss—a 74-71 setback at Mizzou (Feb. 4)—cruising past Texas Tech (83-50) in its most recent game, Saturday night in Lawrence ... the Jayhawks rank second in the league in both scoring offense (75.0/game) and scoring defense (60.4/game).
• Two players average over 15 points a game, led by national player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson—who is averaging a double-double (17.7 points, 11.8 rebounds) ... Tyshawn Taylor averages 16.6 points a contest and leads the squad in assists (137) ... Jeff Withey leads the Big 12 and ranks seventh nationally in blocks (3.2/game).
• Bill Self is in his ninth season at KU with a 259-51 record, and is 466-156 in his 19th season overall ... Self has led the Jayhawks to 13 championships (seven Big 12 regular-season titles, five Big 12 Championships and one NCAA).
Sidebars
• A&M assistant Kyle Keller spent the last three seasons on Bill Self's staff at Kansas.
• Aggie coach Billy Kennedy and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend spent four seasons together at the University of California (1993-97) under Todd Bozeman and Ben Braun, helping the Golden Bears to three NCAA Tournaments and the 1997 Sweet 16.
Aggie Trends
• A&M is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range over its last 9 games (averaging 6.0 threes per game) ... the Aggies rank fifth in league games in 3-point field goals (5.7/game) and in 3-point percentage (34.2).
• Texas A&M's starting rotation has seen lots of action in conference play ... in Big 12 games, A&M starters are averaging 29.1 minutes a game (after averaging 25 a game in non-conference play) ... all five starters played at least 30 minutes against Texas (Jan. 11), the first time that's happened on an Aggie team since March 2007 (Big 12 quarterfinal vs Oklahoma State).
• The Aggies have allowed just one Big 12 opponent to score more points than its season average (Oklahoma, who needed OT to do so).
• A&M has seen its free-throw percentage take a slight up-turn in Big 12 play ... the Aggies shot 61.6 percent from the line in non-conference play, but has shot 67.3 percent in Big 12 action.
• A&M is shooting 71 percent from the line in the second half of Big 12 games ... the Aggies have shot just 59.2 percent in the first half.
• The Aggies are 12-0 this year when leading with 5 minutes to play and 11-3 this year when leading at halftime (losses at Kansas, at K-State, home Texas).
• A&M is 11-2 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field (both losses to Baylor).
• The Aggies have held 11 of their opponents under 60 points and are unbeaten in those games.
• A&M has held 8 opponents under 35 percent shooting (8-0).
• The Aggies are 9-2 this year when shooting more free throws than their opponent (loss to Texas, at Iowa State) and 10-1 when out-rebounding them (loss is to Texas).
• A&M has already bested last year's total for blocks, and did so in just 20 games ... the Aggies are averaging 2.4 blocks per game this year (62 blocks), up from last year's average of 1.5 (51 in 33 games).
• The Aggies have won 4 of their last 5 overtime games dating back to last season.
• A&M has won over 70 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (137-58, .703) ... the Aggies are 179-76 (.702) since the start of the ‘04-05 campaign.
Historic Defensive Effort
• Texas A&M recorded one of its strongest defensive outings in over 50 years in last Tuesday's 47-38 win at Texas Tech ... the 38 points allowed were the fewest in a conference game for A&M since 1959 (73-29 win over Texas, Jan. 16, 1959).
• A&M's previous low for points allowed in a Big 12 game was 43 (46-43 win over Texas, March 1, 2006).
• Texas Tech's 38 points were the fewest a Red Raider team had scored in the shot clock era (1985-86 season) ... it was also the fewest points Tech had ever scored against an Aggie team (126 meetings).
• Tech led the game, 24-9, with 6:32 left in the first half ... A&M held the Red Raiders to 14 points over the final 26 minutes, 32 seconds of the contest ... Tech shot 61% (11-of-18) en route to the 15-point lead but was held to 23% (6-of-26) from that point on, and did not score in the final 5:05 of the game.
Player Notables
Elston Turner
• has slid over and started at the point in each of the last 7 games (36.6 min/gm) for the injured Dash Harris.
• in the top 10 of the Big 12 rankings in four categories (points, minutes, 3-point field goals, 3-point field goal percentage) this season.
• Over his last 9 games, is averaging 16.3 pts, 4.0 rebs and 3.1 assists ... became the first Aggie since Acie Law in 2007 to score 20-plus in three straight Big 12 games (23 vs OU - 1/21, 24 at KU - 1/23, 23 vs OSU - 1/28).
• averaging 15.5 points per game in Big 12 play, seventh-best in the league.
• In 6 games against ranked opponents, is averaging 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
• has scored 10-plus points in 12 of the last 16 games and in 20 of 26 overall this year ... he did so just 9 times in 66 games in two seasons at Washington.
Naji Hibbert
• has hit 57 percent of his 3-point shots (8-of-14) over last 5 games.
• minutes have sharply increased over the last 6 games, averaging 27.7 per game over that span ... 6.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 ast in last 6 games ... poured in a season-high 14 against Kansas State (2/4).
• shooting 40% from floor and 46% from 3-point range overall in Big 12 play ... shot 31% from field and 14% from beyond the arc in non-conference action.
David Loubeau
• in his last 10 games, is averaging 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds (averaged 6 pts, 3 reb in first 4 Big 12 games).
• became only the 16th player in school history this year to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds ... ranks 23rd all-time in scoring (1,144 points) and needs 18 points to become one of the top 20 most prolific scorers in school history ... ranks 18th all-time in rebounds (554).
• has played in 127 career games, eighth all-time in program history.
Daniel Alexander
• nice job on the court in Khris Middleton's absence over last several weeks ... over a 6-game span, averaged 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor ... while in the starting rotation for 4 games, averaged 30.8 minutes.
• set career highs in consecutive games this month, scoring 12 against Baylor (2/1) after posting 11 against Oklahoma State (1/28) on 5-of-6 shooting.
Keith Davis
• has started 11 of A&M's 14 Big 12 games at the "5" position ... averaging 19.9 minutes in league play.
Ray Turner
• named to the Academic All-Big 12 second team.
• averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds off the bench in Big 12 play (13 games) ... averaging 12.1 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds at home (16 games).
• has scored 10-plus points in 14 games this year ... the Aggies are 9-5 in those contests.
• has posted four double-doubles—the first of his career—including a 13-point, 12-rebound effort against Iowa State (1/7) and a 13-point, 11-board game against Baylor (2/1)... his 15 boards vs Arkansas Tech (12/29) were a career high and the most by an Aggie in a game since March 2010.
Jordan Green
• averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 30.5 minutes last week ... scored season (and career) high 14 (6-8 FG) against No. 3 Missouri on Saturday.
• played a career-high 32 minutes in last week's win at Texas Tech (2/14) ... scored 9 points and matched a season high with 5 rebounds while dishing out a team-best 3 assists.
• strong 31 minutes of play against OSU (1/28) after getting the starting nod ... scored 8 points on 4-of-6 shooting, a personal best in Big 12 play ... primary focus was limiting Cowboys' guard Keiton Page (entered 14.7 ppg), and held him to 2-of-13 from the floor and 9 total points.
Dash Harris
• has missed last 7 games recovering from right foot injury suffered at end of first half at Kansas (1/23).
• over his last 8 games, is averaging 7.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists ... Harris has scored in double figures in 5 of his last 9 outings ... he matched a career high with 14 in the win over Oklahoma (1/21).
• leads the team in assists (4.3/game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) ... he was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list.
• moved into the top 10 in school history in career assists and steals in win over Texas Tech (Jan. 14) ... ranks ninth in both categories (358 assists, 133 steals) ... he is one of only 8 players in A&M history to record 300 assists and 100 steals (list on page 9).
Khris Middleton
• got the starting nod against No. 3 Missouri Saturday, first start in nearly a month (Jan. 21) ... scored 15 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, both team highs.
• saw action off bench in the 2 prior games, averaging 7 points, 4 rebounds and 22 minutes ... missed the 5 games previous to that after re-injuring knee early in OT win over Oklahoma (1/21) ... underwent surgery (11/11) to repair partially torn meniscus in right knee ... suffered injury in season opener vs Liberty (11/9) ... missed 7 games, returned vs ULM (12/10).
• picked up first double-double of career at Texas (1/11), 19 pts, 10 rebs ... 10 boards were a career high.
Zach Kinsley
• hard work in practice earned him first start of A&M career on Saturday vs No. 3 Missouri ... played a season-high 31 minutes and scored 5 points.
Alex Baird
• reserve senior walk-on point guard played 21 minutes against OSU (1/28) in lieu of injured Dash Harris, dishing out 3 assists, posting 0 turnovers and grabbing 4 rebounds ... took the floor against the Cowboys with a total of 6 career minutes of action in 8 games played.
• played 9 minutes (0 assists, 0 turnovers) and grabbed 2 boards against Baylor (2/1).
Big 12 Bullets
• The Aggies have won 53 Big 12 games since the start of the 2007 league season ... prior to that, A&M had totaled only 43 victories in the first 10 years of Big 12 play (53-39 since 2006, 43-116 from 1997-2006).
• A&M has finished .500 or better in Big 12 play in each of the past 7 years, one of just 3 teams to do so (Kansas, Texas).
• The Aggies are coming off back-to-back 10-plus win seasons in Big 12 play for just the second time ever (2006, 2007 and 2010, 2011) ... it is only the second time in the last 25 years that an A&M team has accomplished that feat ... prior to ‘06-07, the last time an Aggie squad recorded consecutive 10+ win seasons in conference play was in 1985 (10) and 1986 (12).
• 2011 was A&M’s third consecutive winning season in Big 12 play, the first time the Aggies have accomplished that feat in the Big 12 era (9-7 in 2009, 11-5 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011) … it marked the first time since the late 60s (1967-70) that a Texas A&M team finished above .500 in league action for three straight seasons.
Up Next
• Texas A&M closes the regular season with road games at Oklahoma State (Saturday) and Oklahoma (Saturday, March 3), sandwiched around the Aggies' final home game of the year (Tuesday, Feb. 28 against Kansas State).
